Body armor ballistic plate carrier

Abstract

The present plate carrier includes front and rear panel sections with internal pockets for supporting ballistic plates and inserts, but positions the rear panel section to provide improved thoracic protection. The front and rear panel sections are suspended by shoulder straps, which connect to the rear panel section at a mid point below the top edge of the rear panel section. The mid point connection of the shoulder straps causes the rear panel section to ride higher than the front panel section and higher on the wearer's back thereby positioning the ballistic plate inside high on the wearer's back and providing better ballistic coverage of the wearer's upper thoracic area. One of the internal pockets of each panel section has facing strips of hook and loop material sewn around its inner periphery that adhere together around a ballistic plate to center and hold the plate in place within the pocket. The plate carrier has removable side plate pockets mounted to a detachable cummerbund by hook and loop fasteners allowing the ballistic plates to be properly positioned on the cummerbund.

Description

[0001]This is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 927,975 filed on Nov. 30, 2010.[0002]This invention relates to ballistic resistant “body armor” and in particular, a plate carrier for rigid ballistic plates and flexible ballistic inserts.BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION[0003]Body armor and particularly “plate carriers” are well known in the military and law enforcement communities. Plate carriers are garments that support rigid ballistic armor plates and / or flexible ballistic armor inserts within internal pockets or pouches of the carrier. The plate carrier is generally comprised of front and back panel sections connected by shoulder straps and a waist strap or cummerbund. Generally, conventional plate carriers are not sized and proportioned for particular wearers but to accommodate the sizes of inserts and armor plates, which are typically available in small, medium, large and extra large sizes. Consequently, conventional plate carriers hav...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004]The present invention provides a plate carrier that includes both front and rear panel sections with internal pockets for supporting armor plates and inserts, but positions the rear panel section to provide improved thoracic protection. The front and rear panel sections are suspended by shoulder straps, which connect to the rear panel section at a mid point below the top edge of the rear panel section. The mid point connection of the shoulder straps causes the rear panel section to ride higher than the front panel section and higher on the wearer's back thereby positioning the armor plate inside high on the wearer's back and providing better ballistic coverage of the wearer's upper thoracic area. One of the internal pockets of each panel section has facing strips of hook and loop material sewn around its inner periphery that adhere together around an armor plate to center and hold the plate in place within the pocket. One additional embodiment of the plate carrier has removable side plate pockets mounted to a detachable cummerbund by hook and loop fasteners. In another embodiment, the side ballistic plates themselves have sections of hook and loop material so that they can be mounted directly to corresponding hook and loop material on the cummerbund.

Problems solved by technology

Consequently, conventional plate carriers have suffered from issues relating to the proper fit of the plate carrier to the individual wearer.

One common issue with conventional plate carriers is the position and height of the rear plate on the wearer's back.

Because the front and back panels are suspended from shoulder straps, the rear panel often does not ride high enough on the wearer's back to provide adequate thoracic protection.

In addition, because the armor plates and inserts are simply carried within internal pockets or pouches within the panel sections, smaller plates and inserts often shift about within the pockets as the wearer moves.

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